Samuel weekly



'SAMUEL WEHRLY', on SANFRANGISCQ,'oALiFonNIa Letters .Patent llo. 7 7,787, dated May 1 2, 186.8.

'IMPROVED TRUNK-LID SUPPORTER.

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TOALLl WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL WEiIRLY, of' the city and county of San Francisco, .State of CliOIDo hw@ invented anlmprovcd Supporter for Trunk and other Hinged Lids; and I do hereby declare the following description and ccompar'yngldrawngs are suicient to enable any person skilled in the art .or science to which lt-m'ost nearly appertains to make` and use mysaid invention or improvements without further invention or experiment.

lThe object of my-invention is tov' provide a supporter for trunk and other hinged lids, so constructed that itwill not interfere with the general arrangement lof the trunk or other box-shaped receptacle having lids upon which itmayhe placed,l and which'will serve toprevent the lid, when open, from falling, and thereby injuring any person who may happento be engaged with the trunk.

To do this, I` employ a spring, iliade of any thin pie'ce of metal,'long enough to reach from near the centre of the side of the trunk or box -to aninch' or so above its top. This spring isfastened to the back side of' the trunk, near the centre, and has the end which extendsv above the trunk pierced with a hole suliciently largo to admit Aa'catch. The catch is composed of a piece of metal, fastened tothe back side of the lid just above the spring, having one end projecting towards the top of `the spring, and entering the hole when the trunk is open. A slot in thc'end ofthe catch engages the spring, and .prevents the lid from falling either forward or backwards. `To more fully explain my invention, reference is had to thev accompanying drawings, forming a part of this Y speciieation, which represent an end sectional view'of the trunk, showing the supporter.

A is a. trunk, or any receptacle of the boxl kind,'having the spring B fastened to the centre of lthe back side. The spring-ismade of any-thinelastic metal, and 4extends vabove the top of the trunk. A hole, a, ismade in this spring, near its top, fonthe purpose .of receiving the point D ofthe catch E. The catch E is fastened to the side of the rlid of the trunk, directlyina line "with the spring, and has a slot at the point D, for the purpose of engaging the spring after entermg the hole a, thereby securing the lid from'falling forward or too farbackwards. I

By this device, a trunk-lid may be securediwhen open, so that no danger may befelt of its falling or shut-l ting u p prematurely, thereby preventing manyaccidents, especially to small children,l as the sheet iron which serves as a ange aroundthe `lid is liable 4to cut off some of the fingers or hand it' it should fall upon them, which is frequently the case where the tapes or cords are used to sustain the lid, a slight stroke being suicient to suddenly drop the lid,` wher.eas', by myvdevice, all` that isnecessary to close'the lid is to push steadily down upon it, when'the catch will force the spring outwards, and follow down between it and the back of the trunk, until the trunk is closed.

Having thus described my invention, what Ijclaim as new, and desire to secure by Let-ters Patent, is-

1. The'spring 13 having a hole, near its upper end, for'the purpose of receiving the point D, substantially as described. 1 i

2. The catch E, having a point, D, formed 'by-.making aslot on its top, substantially as'and for the purpose described. y v f i 1n witness whereof, I have hereunto'setmy hand and seal.

SAMUEL "WEHnLv A[n s] Witnesses: f

C. W., M. Shinn, JNo. L. BooNE. 

